LibriVox recording of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia, by Samuel Johnson. Read by Martin Geeson.

In this enchanting fable (subtitled The Choice of Life), Rasselas and his retinue burrow their way out of the totalitarian paradise of the Happy Valley in search of that triad of eighteenth-century aspiration - life, liberty and happiness. According to that quirky authority, James Boswell, Johnson penned his only work of prose fiction in a handful of days to cover the cost of his mother's funeral. The stylistic elegance of the book and its wide-ranging philosophical concerns give no hint of haste or superficiality.

Among other still burning issues Johnson's characters pursue questions of education, colonialism, the nature of the soul and even climate alteration. Johnson's profoundest concern, however, is with the alternating attractions of solitude and social participation, seen not only as the ultimate life-choice but as the arena in which are played out the deepest fears of the individual: "Of the uncertainties of our present state, the most dreadful and alarming is the uncertain continuance of Reason.”

(Summary by Martin Geeson)

M4B format available


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This audio is part of the collection: The LibriVox Free Audiobook Collection
It also belongs to collections: Audio Books & Poetry; Community Audio

Artist/Composer: Samuel Johnson
Date: 2009-09-25
Source: Librivox recording of a public-domain text
Keywords: librivox; literature; audiobook; adventure; fiction; choice of life.

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: mikezane - - September 1, 2011
Subject: That would be a shame... (Updated)
I found M Geeson's voice excellent, as I indicated in my review of Zastrozzi. I actually hated the book, but the reader did a wonderful job. I am partial to mysteries and sci-fi so if you would read some of those... :-)

I think I'll download this book even tho it's not my genre, and give it a listen. Will post updated review when I am done.

Update -
Yep, this book is definitely not my genre. It was an okay book as far as the story line goes, but it did not draw me in because the story wasn't light enough. It addresses some deep philosophical issues such as what is happiness, and how does logic affect grief.

The reader was fine, and the quality of the recordings was excellent, so if you like philosophy wrapped in a bit of a story, you may like this one.

Story = 3
Reader = 5
Overall Rating = 4

Reviewer: M Geeson - - August 27, 2011
Subject: Sincerely, folks: "It's difficult to criticize the work of a volunteer, but..."
Many thanks, Parsnip, for your courteous comments.

If you link to cmih's earlier reviews you'll find him/her an interestingly constituted character. First there's the fulsome praise for the "generosity" of the volunteers; then comes the mean-spirited denunciation of a named individual, with the evident intention to stamp out further participation by that person.

I almost prefer straightforwardly destructive reviewers to someone who pretends to be struggling against their natural sense of fairness and decency. I feel tempted, on the same basis, to apologise to cmih for the nausea induced by my voice!

After a very productive first year reading for Librivox, I have found my confidence failing as I try more difficult and challenging material. I record far less and have long fallow periods. When I find glib or sneering people going out of their way to advertise to others how unpleasing, affected or unsuitable they find my voice, I feel like giving up altogether.

Reviewer: Parsnip - - August 26, 2011
Subject: A matter of taste
We each have our personal taste, but if you look at the many reviews of Martin Geeson's recordings, you will see that many, many people have the very highest regard for his work. I can only assume that the reviewer is American, if he cannot differentiate between a well-spoken Englishman and a "grossly exaggerated British accent".

Reviewer: cmih - - August 26, 2011
Subject: Story seems interesting, but...
It's difficult to criticize the work of a volunteer, but...

It seemed like an interesting story, but after listening to a few of the recordings I had to stop. The reader's style of reading made me feel like I was on a audio roller-coaster. His tone goes UP and DOWN and UP and DOWN and UP and DOWN. I can't place his accent, but it sounds to me like the most grossly exaggerated British accent ever performed, although, interestingly, it appears it is his real accent. I couldn't help but wonder what the story would have been like read in a normal voice. If you can get past the reader's style and accent, you might find the story interesting.